VIDEO: Snake catcher needs fuel to keep catching browns after floods

Susanna Freymark

Terry Collins lost his Coraki home in the floods.

As the town’s snake catcher, he doesn’t have time to process the loss as he is too busy catching brown snakes that are seeking high, dry ground.

“I prioritise snake catching and can’t look at what I’ve lost,” Terry said.

“It will break my heart, I’ve lost everything.

“As long as we’re not in a morgue, we can rebuild.”

In between the clean-up, he is getting calls about snakes.

“I caught my first red bellied black today,” Terry said.

He can’t say how many he has caught this week, “too many to count”, he said.

The answer is the same for a single day.

“I’ve lost count.”

I fill the car with snakes, relocate them, and then fill the car again, he said.

He is staying at a friend’s house and helping in the clean-up.

His main issue is fuel.

“I don’t want to say to some little old lady, I can’t come and get your snake,” he said.

“There’s no petrol in town, I’m running around on petrol fumes.”

Pythons can swim, but browns are seeking dry ground and going into houses, Terry said

His advice to residents cleaning out their homes after the flood is:

“Don’t hose or threaten browns with a broom, otherwise they’ll end up in a neighbour’s house.”

“Don’t touch it, I’ll come to you,” he said

If you can donate unleaded petrol to Terry so he can keep catching snakes, you can drop it off to 43 Martin St in Coraki at the highest house (on stilts) in the street. Mark it with a label for Terry.

Watch the video below of Terry Collins talking about snakes.